


Bazed And Confused

by boredbyreality, charlottefrey



Series: Bazed, Confused and Shirtless [1]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: (jk she's the best employer ever and sets unnatural standards), 8 chapters of it, Artoo and Threepio are so married, Baze is done with everyone, Bodhi is an angel, Chirrut has no chill, Everyone loves Kylo, Jessika is adorable, Jyn is a little shit, Kylo is a sweet summer child, M/M, Phasma is SO done with Kylo 24/7, Slow Burn AF, bc Maz doesnt give him one, esp his hubby, he can't catch a break, more than the 15k top limit, whoops i slipped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-16 15:18:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11831442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boredbyreality/pseuds/boredbyreality, https://archiveofourown.org/users/charlottefrey/pseuds/charlottefrey
Summary: Benjamin Kylo Organa, fashion design student, has worked many jobs in his student life. When he started at Takodana for the summer holidays, he expected the usual quick flirts, nasty customers and embarrassing moments. What he hadn’t expected that he would fall for one customer, who summed these three things up perfectly.





	1. 26th of May

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo recently started working at Takodana, Maz Tanaka’s restaurant in Soho. He’s been working his summer job for only a few days, but already feels like he’s doing everything wrong. The only thing keeping him sane is Phasma, his roommate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go! Two month's worth of suffering from Phil's hands (jk you are awesome) and here we are!  
> I'm happy i participated in the KBB!  
> Have fun and PLEASE COMMENT! I cried blood for this thing. Thank you!

Under Maz' penetrating gaze Kylo felt even more stupid.

  "You shouldn't have grown so tall," she said as she put an ice pack on his forehead.

  "Blame my parents," Kylo joked lamely and she only huffed.

  "Watch out next time," Maz lifted the ice pack and looked at Kylo's reddening skin.

  "You told me that the last few times and it didn't really help," Kylo picked up the glass of water and the Ibuprofen Maz had brought him along with the ice pack.

  "You have huge ears, but you don't listen," Maz replied, leaning against the wall next to where Kylo knelt.

  "Was that your attempt to sound wise while insulting me?" he said and the chuckle he got in reply was enough for Kylo to shake his head at the old lady.

  "Wait here until you feel better," she ordered. "I have a restaurant to run."

Kylo took the ice pack from her tiny, wrinkled hands and watched her run off. He stayed behind, cramped into a corner of the hallway between a box of carrots and two sacks of rice. It wasn't exactly cosy, but it was the only part of the restaurant that offered a little bit of peace in the middle of dinner rush. Kylo leaned his throbbing head against the wall and sighed. 

 

He had hit his head for the fifth time in total today and it was literally getting on his nerves. The summer job he had scored at Maz Kanata's restaurant wasn't ideal, but it would pay for his bills just fine. Plus it was… A new experience. Or at least that's what Phasma had called it last week before he had started work.

It wasn't the worst job Kylo had ever worked at, actually it was pretty high up in the ranking of the good ones. The hours were reasonable, he got to take the leftover food home, and everyone treated him nice. The only problem Kylo had was with those damn stairs down to the kitchen. A winding staircase was bad enough if it was well lit and sufficiently wide. The one installed in the restaurant was neither and there was a bunch of pipes running through the ceiling right above the last step.

It didn’t bother the other waiters or the kitchen staff. But because Kylo was a giant, he constantly hit his head. He sighed, hoping that the Ibuprofen would kick in soon. Only the occasional odd noise reached Kylo in his secluded corner next to the crates and boxes full of kitchen supplies. He untied his hair and shook it out a little.

Eventually he stood up and walked back to the kitchen, his back and forehead seemingly ice cold and his legs stiff as hell. His untied hair was immediately spotted by Maz and she walked over, her eyes, enlarged by her thick glasses, fixed on him. Despite her small built she dominated the room. Maz had the ability to look at you and make you feel like she knew everything about you.

  "I know, Maz," Kylo said and bound his hair back up into a bun. "I know. Go shout at someone else," he added without thinking. Instantly he felt his heart sink and he opened his mouth to take his words back.

  "Oh," Maz said. "Really." The dread at having messed up swallowed Kylo nearly whole. "Why don't you go back to washing dishes?"

  "I'm sorry, Maz," Kylo said but she waved at him dismissively.

  "I like my men feisty." Then she was off again.

Kylo blinked a few times until someone shoved a pair of gloves into his hands and he went back to work. Washing dishes was tiring, even more than waiting tables. Kylo bit his tongue and carried on. Everyone in the kitchen kept going on with their respective duties and Kylo felt a little bit like an outsider while the others bickered in their native tongue.

So far Kylo had helped serving, cleaning tables, and doing dishes. Sometimes, when the restaurant was going slow, Maz showed him the take-out counter, how the computers worked and the menu. He had stood next to her while she explained things in an unnecessarily complicated fashion. Sadly the old lady was not giving up.

The hours droned on and on while Kylo stayed downstairs. He liked being here, even though it made his skin itch with sweat from the immense heat of the stoves and the ovens. But the smells were worth enduring the broken A/C. He knew he would smell like food when he came home and Phasma would make sure to be annoyed at him for it, at least for show. She loved Maz' food after all.

When Kylo’s shift was finally over, Maz found him in the changing room. She placed a heavenly smelling styrofoam box next to him.

  "For you and your girlfriend," she said with a wink.

  "Uhm... You mean Phasma? She's just my roommate," Kylo blushed and reached for his shoe. "I'm… I'm not into that sort of thing."

  “Relationships or women?” The older lady asked.

  “Women…” Kylo confessed, feeling like a teenager again as he looked up from where he was tying his laces.

  "Oh," Maz smiled suddenly. "You know there's a nice gay club just a few blocks away," she said with a wink.

  "Yeah, I know. But the drinks are horrendous," Kylo laughed. "I’d rather spend my money on food than booze," he continued, making Maz laugh.

  "Well then, have a good night," she shooed him out of the room with quick flicks of her wrist, causing her glittering wristband to jump up and down.

Kylo waved at her as he left the restaurant through the back door. The air was still warm, too warm for his taste. There was an underlying smell of rain in the air and he was most certainly looking forward to a good thunderstorm. As he took the few tube stops home, he wondered what Maz had packed for him tonight.

The staircase was stiflingly hot and Kylo felt a sweat break on his neck. When he opened the door to their flat, it was cool inside. Phasma had glued insulation strips around the door and windows in their first winter. Kylo sighed and dropped his messenger bag next to the shoe pile and slipped out of his converse. When he opened the door to the kitchen, he already knew that Phasma wasn’t there.

The darkened room was silent and when Kylo turned on the light he saw why. Her computer and headphones were missing, which meant she was either at Poe and Finn’s place or downstairs. As he set down the plastic bag full of food, he noticed the hot pink post-it. _I’m downstairs working on my project. Come and dig me up when you’re hungry._

Kylo smiled and ripped it off the eggshell coloured table top. He threw it into the bin and decided to go and take a shower. As he made his way to the bathroom he already dreaded opening the door. Every other room in their flat had blinds that could be closed in summer. Only the bathroom didn’t, meaning it was boiling in there during the hot season.

With a sigh, Kylo entered hell and groaned immediately. He undressed quickly and stepped under the ice cold spray. Phasma had started to bully him to shower with cold water during the summer. He understood that as a personal trainer she knew a lot about the human body and how to hone it to perfection, but sometimes he cursed her for turning off the hot water when the temperature rose above 20 degrees celsius.

When he was done, Kylo stepped out of the shower and wrapped his towel around his waist. Frustrated with the temperature in the room, he went to open the window. Across the lane one of their neighbours, a dark skinned old lady, looked out of her window and waved at him. Kylo waved back, nearly dropping his towel in the process.

All to the delight of the old lady, who soon vanished from the window. Kylo laughed to himself and went to dry up and change into comfortable clothes. When Phasma was still missing by the time Kylo had gone through all of his emails he pulled on his shoes over his naked feet and walked down the stairs into the basement.

In the farthest corner of the maze of small rooms, he heard Phasma’s tinkering. When he finally got to the dark green door with their flat number painted on it, he smiled to himself. As always, Phasma hummed along with her music, completely focused on her work.

He pushed the door open and entered the small workshop Phasma had built in there. The woman leaned over a small part of the old typewriter she had dug up in some thrift shop. Her computer sat on the floor, plugged into the power outlet by the door. Slowly, Kylo moved towards her and looked over her shoulder.

  “Seems interesting,” he said as he pulled Phasma’s headphones off her head.

  “Fuck a cactus Kylo, you bastard!” Phasma swung her free hand up at him while her headphones blasted Papa Roach.

  “You would hear me if you listened to music at a reasonable volume,” Kylo replied and shoved her playfully. “Come on, clean up. Maz gave me dinner for us.”

Phasma sighed.

  “Yeah,” she leaned back and stretched her long limbs. “Everything hurts.” Slumping back into her chair, she groaned.

  “No one forced you to work on the typewriter after beating up idiots at the gym,” Kylo replied and finally turned off the music, picking up her computer and unplugging it. “Move it bitch,” he said and kicked her chair.

  “Shut up, jerk,” Phasma replied, turning off the LED lamp and storing away her tools. When she looked at Kylo he saw the dark circles under her eyes.

  “Dude,” he said and reached for her chin. “Have you slept last night?”

  “Not much.” Phasma suddenly yawned. “I was awake most of the time,” she rubbed one of her slightly greasy hands over her face, smearing it all over herself.

  “Unable to sleep or constantly waking up?” Kylo asked and stepped out of the room.

  “Both. A horrible mixture of both,” she pulled the door closed and locked it. “Insomnia is fun,” she sing-songed.

  “Phasma, I am seriously worried now. Like, actually concerned,” Kylo said as he followed her upstairs.

  “It’s okay. I have the day off tomorrow and the day after that. Poe said if I showed up he’d beat me up,” Phasma laughed at that idea.

  “If he teams up with Finn and me he could stand a chance,” Kylo said and poked her in the back. “But promise me to actually sleep,” he added, more serious.

Phasma stopped on the stairs and looked at him. She smiled softly.

  “Damn, what did I do to have such an awesome best buddy?”

  “Well…” Kylo smirked and shrugged. “I have low standards.”

She hollered and swung to hit him on the shoulder. Kylo lifted his free hand to catch the half-hearted blow. They both started laughing and walked the last few steps up.

  “Anyways. How was work?” Phasma said, toeing off her shoes.

  “It was okay. I think I have a concussion now,” Kylo joked.

  “Okay, what the fuck did you do now?” Phasma took her computer from Kylo so he could take his shoes off.

  “Says the one who comes home nearly every week with another part of her body swollen and blue.” Phasma rolled her eyes. “I hit my head again on that stupid pipe.”

Phasma snorted and leaned against the kitchen table. Her light blue eyes sparkled with mirth.

  “You’re too tall,” she said, delighted.

  “And you’re a bastard,” Kylo replied and sighed. “It’s okay though. I simply have to watch out from now on.”

Phasma plugged her computer into the sound system and turned her favourite band back on. While she was occupied with that Kylo unpacked the food Maz had put together for them. His mouth watered at the sight of it. Phasma came over and glanced into the styrofoam box.

  “Holy shit dude, that woman wants to stuff and eat us.”

  “We’re not living in a Disney fairytale,” Kylo countered.

  “As if Disney would do Hänsel and Gretel. That’s a German fairytale.” Phasma stuck her tongue out at Kylo when he flipped her off.

  “Why do you know so much about fairytales anyway?”

Kylo stacked the food on two plates and put them into the microwave.

  “I only know German fairytales. They are so delightfully bloody,” Phasma smirked at Kylo.

  “You’re the worst.”

  “You bring out the worst in me.”

  “Bitch.”

  “Punk.”

  “Fucknugget.”

  “Asshole.”

  “Cunt.”

  “Cocksucker.”

Kylo mock-gasped and looked at his friend in exaggerated horror.

  “How could you,” he said and threw his head back dramtically.

Phasma was laughing so hard she couldn’t reply, nearly doubling over, tears running down her cheeks.

  “I love you, Kylo,” she said eventually.

  “I love you, too,” Kylo said with a small smile.

The microwave pinged and ruined their moment. With a sigh Phasma moved from the kitchen counter, opening the door of the microwave.

  “Anyway, how was your work?” Kylo asked, pulling out the cutlery and napkins.

  “Okay-ish.” Phasma put the hot dishes down on the kitchen table. “Didn’t have much time to work out a schedule for the next month though, which still annoys me.” She flopped down onto her chair. “Plus there was that one dude again.”

  “The guy with the falcon on his back?” Kylo asked and sat down to her left.

  “Yeah.” Phasma picked up her chopsticks. “He was constantly trying to flex in front of me while I worked with Snap,” she sighed and picked up a piece of meat.

  “What a jerk,” Kylo replied.

  “You should roughen him up one day,” Phasma smirked.

  “Nah, I don’t want Poe and Finn getting a bad reputation because of me.”

The conversation went on as Phasma and Kylo shared more of their day with each other. After dropping the dishes into the sink with a muttered ‘I’ll do it later’ from Phasma, Kylo motioned her to come into his room.

When they had moved in Phasma had given Kylo the larger bedroom, not only because she didn’t have enough furniture to fill it. It was mainly because of Kylo’s studies. His passion for clothing and runway shows had led him to a degree in fashion design. He had a huge table, about two on two metres, several corkboards, and a large collection of fabric. Currently his room was dominated by light hues of blue and yellow.

  “Oh my god,” Phasma said and pushed a small stack of designs to the side. “Is that the project you’ve been crying over the last few weeks?”

  “Yep. It’s called ‘Fascination Fairy’,” Kylo sighed. “The colour scheme I was assigned drives me mad. And I love designing lavish gowns, but this… No! The fabric is so flimsy it always looks limp.”

Phasma picked up a design for an a-cut dress in yellow with blue highlights. She frowned at it and picked up the two fabric samples.

  “The colours work together pretty well. But as you said, the fabric doesn’t have any kind of strength. It will simply fall. Haven’t you once said you’d like to do some dresses with underskirts and the sort?” Phasma flicked through the small folder Kylo had lying around with his other designs.

  “It doesn’t fit the project’s theme. It’s supposed to be flowy and elegant. But there are only so many different floor length dresses you can make.” Kylo sat down on his rolling stool.

  “Have you tried to work your old designs into it? I remember several really nice outfits…” Phasma leaned against the table and tilted her head to the side.

  “I don’t want to. The things I designed on the side are personal and I feel like I would defile them, if I used them,” Kylo turned and pulled a folder out, opening it on his lap.

  “The Amidala Collection,” Phasma smiled. “I agree, it would be a terrible mistake to use some of these designs for it. I mean…” Phasma flicked through a few pages of lavish, colourful designs. “It’s too precious to be used for that project.”

  “Yeah,” Kylo rested a hand on a purple gown with a waterfall skirt and train. The silver highlights shone slightly on the dark material of the dress. The low light from the now opened window reflected on the stark white paper.

  “How about you look at belly dancer costumes? I mean they were designed to be both sexy and elegant. You could work with chains, like you did on your Knight assignment.”

  “They’d have to be a whole lot more delicate than those chains,” Kylo laughed. “But you do have a point,” Kylo grinned up at her. “Thank you.”

  “No problem my dear,” she ruffled his hair. “I’ll go shower now, okay?”


	2. 26th of May

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo’s been working on his job for almost a week now, slowly getting into the business. On Tuesday, he meets Mr Hux, an impolite businessman. The server is most definitely not amused by this and when he comes home, he rants to Phasma about it. If only the man wasn’t so handsome and well-dressed…

  “Okay, one last time…”

Maz reached over to the touchscreen when the door opened and a customer walked into the otherwise empty restaurant. Kylo looked up and his eyes fell on a man with flaming red hair, dressed in a dark grey suit with a green tie, a messenger bag slung over his shoulder.

  “Mister Hux!” Maz laughed. “Your table is free.”

The man glanced over to the old lady and nodded quickly. For a second, his eyes fell on Kylo, but quickly the interest faded. Kylo watched confused as the man headed straight for one of the large tables and sat down, taking out a bright pink laptop bag.

  “Who’s that?” Kylo whispered to Maz.

  “Mister Hux. He’s a regular. Anyways…” She lightly shoved him away from the computer. “Do you finally understand this Benjamin?”

Kylo flinched and looked at Maz. She smirked, her wrinkled face scrunching up in odd places.

  “I told you, I hate my first name.” Kylo said, feeling a mixture of annoyance and frustration.

  “I like your name, Benjamin Kylo Organa, it’s nice,” Maz said and her smirk grew.

  “It’s a fucking mouthful, that’s what it is,” Kylo replied, and despite himself he smiled a bit.

  “Stop being a sulking teenager and go do your work.” Maz pressed the writing pad into Kylo’s hands and shoved him forward.

  “But I had like nine years practice of being a sulky teenager, at some point I have to use that training,” Kylo said over his shoulder and grinned.

  “I will show you how long I’ve practiced hitting people with paper cups if you don’t get a move on!” Maz threatened with a smile on her face.

Kylo chuckled and walked over to the table. He nearly fell over the laptop cord hanging across the aisle. His mood instantly dampened.

  “What can I get you?” he asked politely.

  “The usual,” Mr Hux said without looking up from the screen.

Kylo stood there, dumbfounded and a little bit pissed off. He stepped over the cord and walked back to Maz, barely restraining himself from shoving notepad into her hands.

  “He wants ‘the usual’.” He said, swallowing down his anger. “Whatever the fuck that is.”

  “Mr Hux is like that.” Maz said and shrugged. “I know his regular. Just let me serve him.”

Kylo grumbled and stood behind the counter, fiddling with his apron while Maz got Hux’s order ready. He was kind of pissed off at the man for being so rude to him, but he bit his lip instead of speaking up. He knew from Maz that sometimes it was better to simply shut your mouth and duck your head in order to avoid any and all confrontation.

It still bugged him a lot. He hated when someone treated him like he was just dirt on their shoe. He knew it was considered normal and almost socially acceptable. The things he had seen at his former job as a cashier at Tesco’s were the stuff of nightmares.

Maz came back upstairs and brought Hux his steamed buns and a glass of water. Kylo watched the man as he barely lifted his head to thank the old lady before he continued to type as he ate. Sometimes he tore his eyes away to flick through some files and take a sip from his glass.

Hux was pretty. With his tailored suit he was quite the sight, even though Kylo would have chosen a narrow lapel and a thinner tie. The dark colour didn’t quite suit him, a lighter grey or maybe a light blue would have fitted much better with the overall complexion the man sported.

The dark green of the tie was the only thing Kylo actually liked. It gave a nice, balancing contrast to the bright orange of his hair. As Kylo watched Hux, he noticed that even his eyelashes and eyebrows were ginger. He flushed when his mind instantly turned to other things and he shook his head. It was one thing to fantasize about cute and nice customers, but thinking about the colour of Hux’s pubic hair was just… No.

With a sigh he brushed his hair back and slowly moved towards the kitchen. He let Maz pass him when she came upstairs and then ran downstairs quickly, ducking his head under the styrofoam protection Threepio had installed over the pipes a few days ago.

In fact the handymen were here today to install the new A/C that had finally arrived. When Kylo stepped into the kitchen the heat was gone, only the humidity had stayed. Threepio was packing the tools back into their bag while Artoo sat on a box in the corner eating dumplings.

  “Hey, everything okay?” Artoo asked him.

The short electrician wiped his mouth on a napkin and held out the plate with the last dumpling to his partner.

  “Yeah...Why’re you asking?” Kylo replied and took the dirty dish from Artoo.

  “What is the matter, boy? You look as if something’s bothering you,” Threepio said and rose to his full height, towering over Artoo.

  “It’s just a customer,” Kylo said with a slight groan.

  “Ah...The bane of your existence…” Artoo patted him on the shoulder, barely reaching high enough. “It’s okay, we have stupid customers as well. Just ignore it and when you are home...”  Artoo balled up his fist and hit an imaginary punching ball. “Let it all out,” he winked.

  “It will be fine,” Threepio simply said as he arched his eyebrows.

When he glanced down on his watch he turned to his husband.

  “We have to go my dear,” he told Artoo.

  “Okay, have a nice day you two. And Threepio, thanks for the head protection,” Kylo grinned at the man.

  “No worries my friend. I told Maz long ago that those pipes were a problem…”

Before Threepio had the chance to say something more, Artoo grabbed his husband and pulled him out of the kitchen. Maz was just coming down the stairs and she was one of Threepio’s oldest friends. If they started talking, the chance of leaving in the next hour was zero.

  “It was nice to see you again. And ignore the mother hen!” He called before the door shut behind them.

  “They are most certainly one of the weirdest couples I know,” Maz said and shook her head.

  “Oh, you haven’t met my cousin and her two bodybuilder boyfriends,” Kylo said with a laugh.

While he waited with Maz for Hux’s second course to be finished, Kylo told her about Rey. How she met Poe and Finn through him and that ever since they’ve met, Rey had been the light of their lives.

  “Well. Back in my day, this would be unheard of,” Maz said simply with a wink and vanished upstairs.

Kylo bit his tongue not to ask what ‘back in my day’ meant in years because he was sure she would fire him on the spot. So he swallowed the question down and began to occupy his time until business started picking up again and he had to wait four tables full of people. Hux had vanished when Kylo had come upstairs, only leaving an empty glass behind.

Kylo grimly put it aside and continued with his shift. When he was finished for the day, Maz had yet again put a bag with food next to his locker and Kylo took it home gladly. He and Phasma saved a lot of money since he started working at Takodana. On the tube he sat down for the first time in a long while and nearly groaned it felt so good.

The last few metres home were painful, but Kylo soldiered on and nearly collapsed in the entrance hall of the apartment block. A young woman came in behind him. Kylo tried to unlock the letterbox, but dropped his keys. The loud sound made her turn around, already halfway up the stairs.

 “You okay?” She asked concerned, which was uncommon from a random stranger.  

 “Yeah, kinda. Had a long day waiting tables,” Kylo replied with a sarcastic laugh, picking up his key.  

 “Aw shit,” She winced in sympathy. “But you reminded me of getting my mail, so thank you.”

While she unlocked her own box, Kylo looked through his and Phasma’s mail.

  “You’re the couple on floor two, aren’t you?” She asked suddenly.

  “What?” Kylo laughed, momentarily shocked. “No… Uhm. We’re flatmates.”

  “Okay, sorry.” Her laugh sounded embarrassed. “I’m Jessika Pava,” She held out her hand. “Just moved in a few weeks ago.”

  “Oh, I remember!” Kylo nodded as he shook her hand. “I’m Kylo Organa.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Jessika said.

The two of them walked over to the stairs.

  “Uhm… Are you are student?” Jessika asked. “Like… Do you go to Uni?”

  “Yeah. I study fashion design at the UAL,” Kylo replied. “I take you are starting this year?”

  “I am,” Jessika nodded. “I’m starting med school next term. I am super nervous,” she said quietly, eyes focused on the steps in front of her.

  “We all were nervous and anxious in the beginning,” he grinned. “That’s me. I guess I will see you around?” They stopped on Kylo’s floor.

  “Yeah.” Jessika swallowed nervously while Kylo unlocked the door.

  “Hey,” he began and turned to Jessika. “If you need something, just ring the bell.”

  “Thank you,” she laughed. “That’s very nice of you to offer.”

Kylo merely smiled and waved, stepping into the apartment. He sighed as he took off his shoes. His overheated feet would definitely swell overnight and he wasn't looking forward to tomorrow. He had promised Phasma that he'd go work out with her.  

  "Honey, you're home," Phasma said and stuck out her tongue when Kylo flipped her off.

  "I met a girl on the stairs," He pushed the bag of food into Phasma's hands and went to wash his hands in the sink. "Jessika. She’s new."

  "The pretty gal with the dark brown hair?" Phasma leaned against the counter next to Kylo.  

  "Yeah. She told me that she’s starting uni this semester," Kylo said, trying to stifle a yawn.  

  “Tired sweetheart?” Phasma smiled and quirked her eyebrow.  

  “I was up all night trying to make sense of the bloody project,” Kylo groaned as he dried his hands on the dish cloth.

She sighed and put an arm around his shoulder, pressing her forehead to his temple gently. Kylo sighed and moved away after a few seconds.

  "How was work?" When Kylo's face instantly turned sour after her words, she flinched. "That bad?" she asked.  

  "There was a customer. Like, a really well-dressed kinda dude with red hair and an amazing tie and he was such a dickhead." Kylo watched Phasma heat up the food while he spoke. "He was rude to me, sometimes ignored even Maz and his stuff was all over the damn table. A table for eight people! And!" Kylo grabbed Phasma's arm while she was reaching for the cupboard.

  "And what?" She asked and looked him straight into his eyes.  

  "His charger was hanging across the damn fucking aisle, making me trip!" Kylo snapped. “And apparently I wasn’t even worthy enough to be looked at.”

  "Ew," Phasma said and flinched in sympathy, gently pulling away from Kylo's grip. "Rude."  

  "Yes, damnit. But Maz was just like 'yeah, Hux is always like that'." Kylo threw his hands up in frustration. "As if he wasn't such a prick to her all the time." Phasma hummed in agreement.  

  "What a dick," She agreed as she poured them their drinks.  

For a few seconds, the only audible sound was the humming of the microwave. Then Kylo sighed and leaned against Phasma.  

  "If he hadn't been so well dressed," Kylo mumbled.  

  "Tell me about it," Phasma said gently and patted her roommate's hair.  

  "Dark grey suit, white shirt and dark green tie. I would have put a light grey suit on him. Maybe a Cashmere shawl instead of a tie. Or a bowtie. But I would have kept the bottle green colour," Kylo sighed. "He had amazing red hair."  

Phasma hummed and they leaned against each other in silence until the microwave pinged. With a sigh, they separated and took out their dinner. While they ate, Phasma told Kylo about her day.  

  “You remember the daughter of the former bodybuilder who comes around every once in awhile?” Phasma asked Kylo.

  “Yeah, you told me about her,” Kylo nodded along.

  “She was at _Jakku_ today and asked me if I could privately instruct her,” Phasma smiled.

  “Lot’s of people ask you for that,” Kylo said, furrowing his eyebrows.

Phasma’s smile grew even wider and she winked at Kylo. He put down his chopsticks and gave a chuckle.

  “Damn. You said yes.”

  “If a pretty girl asks me if I am up to spend an hour every other day with her, I will definitely say yes, idiot!” Phasma laughed.

  “You’re such a womanizer.”

  “Jealous that I get my leg over more often than you?”

  “You can keep your girls,” Kylo said and shivered overly dramatic. “Yuck.”

  “Call a gal ‘yuck’ once more…” Phasma mock threatened.

Only when Kylo went to bed his mind wandered back to today’s incident. He huffed in annoyance and turned around, facing the room. In the yellow light falling in through the window the scraps of cloth on his table were barely visible. He hated blue and yellow. With a groan he turned off his lamp and closed his eyes.


	3. 6th of June

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The following Tuesday, Kylo had almost forgot about last week's incident. Almost. After his lunch break with Jyn, Kylo comes back into the restaurant to see Hux sitting at his usual table. To his (and Jyn’s) utter surprise, the businessman apologizes for his behaviour. How will Kylo deal with this now?

A week later Kylo thumb-wrestled with Jyn, one of the other waiters. The two of them had bonded the day before when an old man had turned the whole restaurant upside down with his claims that the food was not the dish he had ordered. When he tried to throw a fit Jyn stood together with Maz behind Kylo and let Baze, one of the cooks, kick the man out.  

  "Oh look, break is over," Jyn mumbled.  

In the short moment Kylo was looking towards the backdoor of the restaurant she snatched his tumb.  

  "You prick," He hissed at her.  

  "Aw poor baby," Jyn smirked at him. "I didn’t tell you to be inattentive."  

  "Sod off," He replied and shoved her playfully.  

The two stood up from the bench and went across the courtyard from Takodana’s back door. As they walked into the restaurant, Kylo heard Baze shouting over the sound of meat grilling. Maybe he was bickering with his husband over something again. As the two of them put on their maroon aprons back on, Kylo felt uneasy. It had been exactly one week since the Hux guy had first appeared.  

And, lo and behold, there he sat, talking to Maz, as the two servers came upstairs. Jyn poked Kylo to move along when his step faltered on the way up. The old lady looked over to them and winked at Kylo, who merely gave a weak smile in reply. He and Jyn positioned themselves behind the counter. When Maz was gone, Hux waved him over. Kylo walked up, disgruntled and annoyed.  

  "Good afternoon," He said.  

  "Afternoon," Hux replied.  

Today he wore a black suit with a dark red shirt. It should have messed with his hair, but instead Kylo found himself enjoying the picture. Kylo forced himself to focus on anything other than the man's choice of outfit.  

  "Uhm... Listen," Hux began, standing up and looking Kylo straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry for being such a prick to you the last time I was here. I gathered that you are new and... See, I'm usually a lot nicer to people, but work was stressful and... I was stressed. I'm sorry for everything... I didn’t want to make you feel inadequate or anything."  

Kylo looked at the other man, blinking a few times. Hux swallowed nervously and looked down at his hands, fiddling with an ink pen. It came as a surprise to Kylo that this man was apologizing, but it said a lot about his manners. Kylo inhaled and ran a hand through his hair. 

  "It's okay," Kylo said and gave a quick laugh. "I… I was pissed, yes. But... I think it's nice you took the effort to apologize and all." Kylo smiled a little. “I appreciate the effort.” 

Hux' head shot up and he looked relieved.  

  "So, no hard feelings?" He asked. 

  "No hard feelings," Kylo replied, smiling despite himself.  

When he walked over to Jyn, she looked at him with a confused look on her face.  

  "What was that about?" She whispered to him as they washed glassed.  

  "He wanted to apologize, the last time he was here, he was kind of a dick," Kylo replied with a shrug.  

He glanced over to where Hux sat and caught the man looking. The redhead blushed and looked back down to his computer. Kylo inhaled deeply and went back to drying the glasses Jyn handed him.  

  
  


When Kylo came home Phasma was in the kitchen, typing on her computer while classic rock played over the speakers. She looked completely focused on her work, so he left her where she was and went to shower. The music was still playing when he came out of the oven that was their bathroom, but the food he had put there earlier was gone.  

Kylo went into the kitchen shirtless, still feeling warm from work and the summer heat. Phasma shot him one look and arched her eyebrow. She was preparing dinner. 

  "I see naked men every day at work, why do you have to force this upon me in my own home?" She said and handed him two pairs of chopsticks.  

  "Well, you didn't have to move in with me," Kylo replied with a smirk.  

  "Good mood today?" Phasma asked, waiting for the microwave to give the expected ping. 

  "Yep." Kylo set the table and poured them both a glass of water.  

  "Was Jyn nice today?" She handed him the lemon syrup without looking as she spoke, eyes glued to the microwave.  

  "Not really. And I told you she was dating a pilot." Kylo poured a cap of syrup into each glass, stirring with a long spoon.  

  "What a shame, she sounds like just the woman for me," Phasma sighed and finally the microwave pinged.  

  "Well." Kylo shrugged and sat down, handing Phasma her glass.  

  "So tell me," She said, picking up her chopsticks. "Why're you in such a good mood?" 

  "Remember that red haired asshole from last week?" Phasma hummed. 

  "The well dressed dude?"  

  "Yeah." Kylo took a sip. "He was at the restaurant again. Apologized to me."  

  "What?" Phasma almost dropped her chopsticks. "Apologized?"  

  "Exactly. He seemed genuine though. He said it was stressful at work and that he's really sorry for having been such a, and I quote, 'prick' to me." 

  "Marry him," Phasma said, completely serious.  

 "Shut up."  

  "No, seriously. You want a well-dressed man with manners. He is a well-dressed man with manners and a good taste in food." Phasma smirked.  

  "Yeah sure." Kylo flipped her off. 

  "So tell me, what did he wear today?"  

Kylo flushed and hid his face behind his water glass.


	4. 12th of June

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux’ third visit is a lot different than the last two times. Barely speaking and clearly stressed, the man is a source of worry to Kylo. Unconsciously he had been looking forward to see the redhead again.

Maz kept smirking at Kylo the following week. It made him feel even more confused than he was normally. He went downstairs and walked into the main kitchen only to have his hand suddenly grabbed by Chirrut, Baze's husband, as soon as he passed through the door. 

  "You will find love soon. Your aura tells me so." The blind cook smiled softly and nodded to himself.

  "Don't listen to the old fart, he's just messing with ya," Baze shouted over from where he stood chopping vegetables.  

  "I'm the old fart who married a pessimist like you," Chirrut chirped and smiled into the vague direction of his husband.  

  "The shit I put up with," Baze mumbled.  

  "What was that?" Chirrut asked with a broad smile.  

Kylo knew that this was only a ruse as Chirrut’s hearing was incredible. 

  "Nothing, my dear, nothing," Baze said with a deep sigh. 

Taking this as his cue to leave, Kylo gently extracted his hand from Chirrut's grip and fled out of the kitchen. Only to run into Maz again.  

  "So... Your boyfriend will come over today." She smiled. "Don't you want to put on some make-up?" She pulled a dark blue eyeliner out of her back pocket.  

  "What?" Kylo ducked under her pen and took a few steps back. "Has everyone gone mad?" He asked.  

At that moment Jyn came downstairs, arms full of plates.  

  "What were you expecting when you signed up for a job in a nuthouse?" She frowned. "Now move."  

Politely Kylo stepped back and let her pass. He was so confused, he watched Maz vanish into her office without asking her about the weird question she had asked him. She was gone before he could gather his mind again.  

Kylo was running constantly until his break finally started. For some reason there was not a moment's peace today and he desperately wished for a third hand and a second pair of legs. 

Finally, Kylo was allowed to take his break, letting Maz handle the two couples. He and Jyn headed out, looking for a pizza place to have lunch at.  

  "There." Jyn grabbed his hand. "I will show you Bodhi's."  

Letting himself be dragged into another alley, Kylo was tempted to simply suggest to sit down on the grimy floor. The pain in his legs and back was killing him slowly. But then he saw  _ Rogue One, _ a small, cosy little pizza place with cushioned chairs.

  "Bodhi!" Jyn called and a tall, slender man appeared behind the counter.  

The broad smile he wore on his face brightened the room. Kylo felt momentarily blinded by so much positivity. 

  "That's Kylo, the dude I am working with. And that's Bodhi, my best friend," Jyn introduced.  

  "Nice to meet you," Bodhi said. "What can I bring you two?"  

  "Surprise us!" Jyn said and waved at him in dismissal.  

She walked over to a corner and sat down on a sofa. Waving at Kylo to sit down, she spread her long legs.  

  "You go here often?"  

  "I used to, after school, you know? Back when Bodhi's dad owned the place," Jyn said with a shrug.  

  "Ah. So you and Bodhi have been friends for long?" Kylo asked.  

  "Not really. Only after he took the restaurant over from his old man. Bodhi and I started chatting whenever he had a moment to spare. Funnily enough, we both want to study, the same thing actually, and sort of began to daydream together." Jyn shrugged, a small smile playing around her lips. 

  "What do you want to study then?" Kylo folded his long legs under the table.

  "Aircraft construction," Jyn said, her smile growing a little.  

  "Awesome!" Kylo said, and meant it. "Like that’s totally cool. My dad is a mechanic and he's so fucking passionate about cars and bikes and never shuts up about a new thing, it's annoying."  

  "Yeah, I feel your dad." Jyn brushed her hair back, blushing a little. "You study fashion design, don’t you?"  

  "Yup." Kylo nodded as Bodhi came out of the kitchen, a plate with steaming pizza in each hand.  

  "We have spicy pepperoni for the gentleman. And potato and sausage for the savage," He smiled. "Enjoy."  

  "Thank you," Kylo said and smiled back at him.  

  "So... Fashion design," Jyn said and took a bite from a slice. "Why though? It's very unusual for a dude."  

  "I know. But my mum is passionate about fashion and she has it from my grandmother, who was a huge fashionista." 

  "So it runs in the family then."

  "You could say so. If you ignore my dad..." Kylo laughed. "He considers a clean, non-plaid shirt and a pair of cotton pants 'fancy'."  

Jyn threw her head back and laughed loudly.  

  "Who's your granny?" Jyn asked. 

  "My grandmother was Padmé Amidala."  

  "Did I hear Amidala?" Bodhi popped his head out of the kitchen. "THE Amidala."  

  "Bodhi is a son of an Amidala fan. He got it with the mother’s milk," Jyn said and smiled up at her friend. 

  "Shut up!" Bodhi said annoyed and sat down next to Kylo.  

And so it came that Kylo spent his lunch break chatting with a man who knew almost more about his own grandmother than himself. When Kylo and Jyn returned to the restaurant, Maz awaited them already. She didn’t say a word about the two of them being ten minutes late.  

Kylo went upstairs and since there wasn’t much to do, he started cleaning a few tables. Just as he finished Hux came into the restaurant. He was a little pale today and looked obviously stressed. When Kylo went over to bring him water, he noticed the bags under Hux' eyes. 

  "Thanks," Hux said quietly, quickly looking up at the other man.  

  "The usual?" Kylo asked.  

He only got a quick nod in reply. Jyn gave him a look when he came downstairs to pick up Hux' steamed buns. When he brought him the food, Kylo was careful not to trip over the laptop cord as he went over to Hux' table.  

The man wore a light brown tweed jacket with a red pair of corduroy pants. He looked a lot less casual than the last time he was at Takodana. And he had never looked more stressed than right now. Kylo manned the counter, watching as Hux furiously rubbed his nose whenever he was taking a break from typing.  

It was almost painful to watch.  

Kylo brought the second course and took the empty plate downstairs. Maz breezed past him and smiled encouragingly, but when he didn’t smile back her step faltered for a second. But she continued on, hurrying off to her office.  

Hux barely spoke when Kylo was taking his payment. Kylo sighed.  

  "Sorry," Hux said with a strained frown. "Stressed."  

  " 's okay," Kylo replied with a small smile. "See you next week."  

  "Yeah." Hux nodded, a tight smile on his face.  

He stuffed his hot pink laptop case back into his messenger bag and walked to the door. On the doorstep he turned and waved at Kylo, looking a little bit less downbeat. Kylo waved back and smiled.  

 "So much for your boyfriend," Maz said.  

Kylo jerked, almost throwing the water pitcher off the table.  

  "Maz! For fucks sake," He hissed.  

But the old lady merely chuckled as she walked away, leaving Kylo to yet again ponder on her words.  

  
  


At the end of the day, Kylo was annoyed. He would never admit it, but he had actually looked forward to Hux's weekly visit. And now, that it had been spoilt, he was annoyed even at the nice things. The woman who bumped into him on the subway got an angry glare from him just because he could get away with it.  

And the door to his and Phasma's apartment had to be shut loudly behind him. His shoes were kicked against the wall and he shoved the food bag into Phasma's hands. 

  "Someone's in a bad mood." Phasma commented impassionately.  

  "Shut up." Kylo snarled back.  

  "I'll go heat the food up. If you feel like talking, I'll be downstairs."  

Rather than apologize, Kylo went to shower. The ice cold water forced him to clear his mind. His tense shoulders slouched and he leaned his head against the shower wall. Kylo knew what kind of idiot he was. But he would never admit it, least of all to Phasma.  

Instead he towelled himself dry, dressed, and ate his dinner while pondering over his designs. Frustrated with himself and the world, he almost threw everything out of the window. Instead, he took his plate into the kitchen and went to bed.  

He woke in the middle of the night when a police car passed the house, but instead of being groggy, he was fully awake. A glance to the clock told him he had four more hours until he had to get up to work. Kylo sighed, thinking about the messed up dream he had last night. And then he practically jumped out of bed.  

Finally he had the right ideas for his project.


	5. 20th of June

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Kylo has a muse for his fairy project. But Phasma is onto him. And not just her: Chirrut, Baze and Maz are trying their hand at something like matchmaking.

Kylo glanced over to his nightstand and groaned when he saw that he had slept ten minutes in. Instead of getting up, he ran a hand over his face. He was a wreck after last night’s workout with Phasma. She had pushed him to his absolute limit and enjoyed it immensely. Only when Finn had noted that Kylo was completely drenched in sweat, Phasma let him go shower. 

A knock on the door told him that Phasma was up and was about to make coffee. He rolled out of bed and stretched his back. 

  “Ah, fuck me,” he groaned. “I want to die.” 

  “You used to be such a tough workout buddy,” Phasma popped her head into his room. “What happened?” 

  “I got old.” 

  “Ha, I’m two years older than you.”

  “Yeah but you’re a woman, you live like 10 years longer than me, it doesn’t count!” Kylo replied, struggling out of his shirt.

  “Aaand that’s my cue to leave,” Phasma closed the door before Kylo could completely undress. 

He rolled his eyes and started searching through his wardrobe. Slowly, he began to fully wake up and after he put on a shirt and shorts, he forcefully closed the drawer again. The momentum of it was strong enough to make the picture frame on top of the wardrobe almost fall over. 

It was an old photo of his grandfather on his Triumph Thunderbird. He smiled to himself when he saw Anakin’s huge grin on the worn picture. Kylo had spent way too many hours and days with Anakin in a biker pub along the road, something his mother had been decidedly not happy about. 

Kylo sighed and sat the silver frame back down on the drawer. He missed his grandfather ever since he had moved to London. Saint Andrews wasn’t around the corner. Maybe he could take a few days off at the end of his break, just to see Padmé and Anakin again. 

When Kylo came into the kitchen, Phasma was already putting her dishes into the sink. She had her hair up in a messy ponytail and hummed along to some hard rock playing over the speakers. 

  “Ready for work?” Kylo asked her. 

  “Today is my favourite day of the week. Rey and I have the Extreme Workout Class!” Phasma smirked. 

  “You’re looking forward to breaking people,” Kylo sighed. “Do you think it’s too late to call the police on you?” 

Phasma swatted him on the head with a dishtowel. Kylo merely laughed, pouring himself a cup of coffee as he popped two slices of bread into the toaster. He grabbed a plate and his mug, waiting patiently for his toast to brown.

  “You’re in a good mood today.”

  “Yesssss,” Kylo replied. 

  “And why would that be?” Phasma pushed her face into Kylo’s personal space, glaring at him.

  “Well…” Kylo smirked as he dropped his toast on his plate. “I have no idea.” 

He turned away from her, taking his food and drink and sitting down at the table. As he drizzled honey on his toast, Phasma sat down beside him. 

  “Pray tell….could it be a certain red headed customer with an impeccable sense of fashion?” Phasma batted her lashes. 

  “I don’t know who you are talking about!” Kylo said and took a long sip of his black coffee. 

Before Kylo could complain about his noisy flatmate, said noisy flatmate was out of the kitchen with a roll of her eyes, and vanished in the bathroom. With a sigh, he continued his breakfast. 

After he finished eating, Kylo put his dirty dishes in the sink and went to brush his teeth. Back in his room Kylo stood at his desk and looked at the drawings he had done so far. Phasma merely dropped a nasty comment so far:  _ Well, why are all of them ginger? _ It still haunted his mind. He had to admit it was kinda suspicious, but once he had found a muse it was hard to let the idea go.

His two favourite designs were still lying on top of the folder holding the previous failed ones. He had to turn in the first rough drafts by the end of his holidays. He wanted them to be ready sooner rather than later. 

Both designs were inspired by long gone fashion. For the first one he had chosen a soft, dark blue fabric and a slightly altered version of a poet’s shirt. As a highlight he had used a subdued yellow fabric, accentuating the collar and the cuffs. The loose pants were made of the same cloth without any other decoration than a small flower on the right pocket. 

The other was an empire waist dress in a bright yellow with short puffy sleeves and stitching around the low cut neck. Sky blue ribbons around the high waist and the sleeves gave a nice contrast, rounding the dress up. Kylo had added a shawl in the same shade as the ribbons with tassles in bright yellow. He liked to add small little details to his designs, which usually earned him a higher grade.

He smiled to himself and set the drawings down. Then he glanced towards his wrist watch and swore. He was getting late for work. 

  
  


  “You have ten seconds to spare!” Jyn called when Kylo stumbled into the kitchen.

  “Jesus Christ.” 

  “Nah, he died, I’m still very much alive,” Jyn winked at him.

Kylo only rolled his eyes at her and tied his apron around his hips. Maz came into the kitchen and walked over to the two servers. 

  “Kylo, it would be great if you could help in the kitchen for a few hours. One of the cooks had to stay home because his daughter is sick. He will come in around noon. Baze will show you what you have to do,” Maz said, patted him on the cheek, and was about to leave the room again when Kylo took a few steps to catch up to her.

  “Wait what?” He asked, confused. “I’ve never helped in the kitchen. You don’t even know if I will be able to help.” 

  “Kylo…” Maz looked up at him, her expression stern. “You have been helping for a month. You are one of the fastest learners so far. I trust you. Don’t you trust yourself?” 

For a few seconds, Kylo was silent. Then he exhaled slowly and took a deep breath. 

  “If you trust me, I will do it,” he said. 

  “You haven’t answered my question,” Maz said gently, her expression softening. 

  “I don’t trust myself with things I have never done before. Like working in a busy restaurant kitchen during lunch rush. Or jumping out of a moving airplane with a parachute.” 

  “There’s a first time for everything,” Maz said with a smile.  

  “And about that other thing: I can ask Cassian if he could arrange something for you,” Jyn suddenly slapped her hand down on Kylo’s shoulder. 

  “Thanks, but no thanks,” Kylo smiled at her and turned around to where Baze stood waiting for him. “Sorry, but I have work to do as it seems.” 

The cook merely handed him a carrot peeler and pointed at the bucket on the counter. 

  “Peel goes in there. If you run out of carrots, come to me, I have some more stuff to do,” he said gruffly. 

With a sigh, Kylo began peeling the vegetables, his hands getting soggy from the water the carrots were swimming in. It was a tedious job and his mind started to wander. He was thinking about Hux, and the clothes he had designed so far. It filled him with an insane amount of joy and anxiety. On one hand he finally found his inspiration, and on the other...he had used a complete stranger for it. He had never done something like that before.

The Knight assignment he did last year was severely inspired by Phasma’s style and biker fashion. He had enjoyed working with rougher materials and different fabrics, playing with shades of grey and black.

The Amidala Collection was obviously inspired by both his grandmother’s as well as his mother’s lavish fashion. Despite being married to a mechanic, Leia had maintained a surprisingly flashy wardrobe. Not nearly as flashy as the Senator, but she had always stood out at the shop. 

Suddenly, something hit his back and Kylo almost peeled his own skin off his thumb. A slight giggle was heard and when Kylo turned, he wasn’t even remotely surprised to see Chirrut. 

  “Were you thinking about the ceremony?” The man asked.

  “What ceremony?” Kylo asked, confused, and inspected his unharmed hand. 

  “The marriage ceremony of course!” Chirrut said and shook his head. 

  “Whose marriage… Chirrut, what are you babbling about?” 

  “Kids these days!” Baze said suddenly. “They think they can simply get away with not doing their work!” 

With a fairly rough shove Kylo was turned around to face the counter again. Chirrut kissed his husband’s cheek and walked away. Kylo was still trying to figure out what exactly was going on when Baze snarled at him. 

Fearing for his life Kylo started peeling carrots frantically. He only calmed down when he heard Maz’ voice behind him. 

  “Kylo was nice enough to take over you work,” Maz said and Kylo turned with a smile. 

A young man stood next to the old lady and immediately reached out to shake Kylo’s wet hand. 

  “Thank you!” The cook smiled broadly, clearly relieved. 

  “Jyn needs you upstairs,” Maz said nonchalantly. 

  “I guessed as much,” Kylo replied. “Do you know what Chirrut meant with a marriage ceremony?” 

Maz smirked and batted her eyelashes. Then she turned on her heel and walked out of the room. Kylo swore, which got him a pointed look from two kitchen helpers.

Exhaustion clung to Kylo by the time lunch finally rolled around. He and Jyn were too tired to move further away from the restaurant than the bench in the courtyard. Maz handed them two plates with steamed buns and dumplings. 

  “Maz is amazing.” 

  “Mmh.” 

  “And those dumplings…” 

  “Mmaah.” 

Kylo swallowed his bite and Jyn laughed. 

  “Was that your O-face?” 

  “Shut up!” Kylo replied and rolled his eyes at her.

  “Is your crush coming today?” Jyn teased. 

  “Jesus! First Chirrut with his marriage talk and now you asking about my crush. What is wrong with people!” 

  “Just… Like, you show interest in that redhead,” she said and shrugged. “It’s kinda obvious if someone knows you.” 

  “I just hope Phasma never meets him.” 

  “Will she make fun of you for your crush?” Jyn asked before she stuffed and entire steamed bun into her mouth.

  “No, but she will challenge him to a fist fight,” he replied and took another dumpling. 

  “So you admit you have a crush,” Jyn said around her mouthful. 

  “I will admit that I won’t speak to you ever again if you continue to be so damn disgusting!” Kylo replied. 

Jyn laughed, almost choking on her food. 

  “I mean it!” Kylo said, but his stern words were ruined by his laughter. 

Maz smirked at them when they brought their plates back in and Kylo quickly knew why. Hux was reading at his usual table, steamed buns going cold next to him. He looked completely focused on his work but still managed to look up when he saw Kylo out of the corner of his eye. The instant recognition flooding his face made Kylo’s heart jump. 

Hux  _ almost _ smiled at him. 

And Kylo  _ almost _ smiled back.

He nodded at the other man and followed Jyn behind the counter to help her with restocking. When he saw that Hux’ plate was empty, he went over and picked it up. Hux startled and gave a breathy laugh. 

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

  “No problem. I was just completely focused on the case in here,” Hux shrugged. “I’ve been meaning to ask… You haven’t been around for long, have you?” 

  “Yeah, no,” Kylo rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s a summer job I do to save up some money before uni,” he explained. “I won’t have much time then to work.” 

Kylo spotted Maz walking up the stairs with Hux’ second course and hurried off. He didn’t want to give Maz any reason to be angry with him. When he came back, Hux was already tucking in heartily. Kylo cleaned a few already clean tables just to do something. 

  “What are you studying, exactly?” Hux asked when Kylo passed him.

  “Uhm… Fashion design…” Kylo stopped, sponge in his hand.

  “Really,” Hux’ head jerked up. “That’s amazing.” 

  “You think?” Kylo knew he was blushing. “I started with modern art, but I wasn’t really feeling it. So I went with fashion design. And I’ve never been happier.” 

  “Why did you study modern art?” Hux asked, turning halfway in his seat, still looking up to Kylo.

  “I really love abstract stuff. Do you know Christo and Jeanne-Claude? The two of them wrapped up the Reichstag in Berlin with fabric and did the Valley Curtain,” Kylo replied, leaning against Hux’ table. 

  “Oh yes!” Hux nodded. “I remember something about them. But I have to admit the only modern artist I know is Anish Kapoor.” 

Kylo groaned and rolled his eyes. 

  “No! Honestly!” He said and turned away, shaking his head.

  “Did I mess up?” Hux stammered. 

Kylo looked over his shoulder and smiled.

  “Not really.”

The smile he got in return lifted his spirits.

  
  


When Kylo came home, the first thing he heard was someone crying in the kitchen. Without even taking off his shoes he dropped the bag of food he had with him and stormed inside. Jessika sat at the kitchen table and Phasma stood by her side, hugging the other woman to her chest. 

  “What happened?” Kylo asked, his heart clenching in worry. 

  “My… My washer broke and the landlord won’t replace it,” Jessika sobbed. “I don’t have any mon-ey-ey…” She buried her face in Phasma’s chest again. 

  “Shit,” Kylo whispered and walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

Phasma gave him a look and nodded over at the microwave. Kylo understood her intention and went to grab the bag of food. While he prepared dinner for three, Jessika slowly calmed down and Phasma brought her into the bathroom so she could wash her face. She came back without Jessika and leaned against the counter. 

  “She has barely enough to get by,” Phasma said in a barely audible whisper. 

  “That’s really shitty.” 

  “Hmmm,” Phasma sighed. “I was thinking to offer our washer. I mean… it’s pretty new and we both wash our work clothes at work. We have like three circles each week?” 

  “Do it. And don’t take no for an answer,” he replied. 

  “You know me,” Phasma gave him a gentle shove. 

  “Better than you think.” 

Kylo shoved back and winked. The microwave pinged and Kylo took out the plates, setting them on the table. When Jessika returned to the kitchen, her eyes were still swollen and red.

  “Have a seat,” Phasma offered and handed her a glass of water. 

  “No… I’ve already…” Jessika began. 

  “Don’t make her  _ sit _ you down,” Kylo threw in and smiled. “Trust me, my boss always packs way too much. You’re not a burden.” 

Jessika gave them both a worried look but sat down and picked up her chopsticks. She gave a sad smile and tears welled up in her eyes again. 

  “I can’t remember the last time I had take-out.” 

  “Jessika… You can eat with us whenever you want to,” Phasma rested her hand on the other woman’s shoulder. 

  “Thank you,” Jessika forced out. 

  “About your washer,” Kylo began and rubbed his chin. “You can use ours. It’s no problem for us and if  _ you  _ don’t mind it…” 

He broke off when Jessika started crying again. Phasma pulled her against herself and Kylo rose from his seat to kneel by her side, taking her hand into his. 

  “That’s so nice…” She said and sobbed harder. 

The two waited until the storm had calmed again and Phasma handed her a tissue. After Jessika blew her nose and inhaled deeply, she smiled at them. 

  “Thank you so much. But I’d like to repay you for everything you’ve done.” 

  “How about you repay us in doing amazing at uni?” Kylo offered and smiled at her. 

She laughed and nodded. The smile on her face was relieved and excited. Kylo patted her shoulder and sat down again. 

  “Now, eat before it gets cold,” Phasma said. “We’ve had enough tears for today.” 

While they ate, Phasma talked about her day. Apparently Poe’s mastiff, Black Leader, had started disliking several new customers and Finn and Poe had started to suspect they were involved in some kind of shady business. 

  “But they can’t do anything,” Phasma said and sighed. “I suggested that they talk to the police, but they said they’d wait.” 

  “But hasn’t Leader been always right about people? Do you remember that old dude Snoke?” Kylo frowned. “He was a drug dealer as it turned out in the end…” 

  “Yeah, I do,” Phasma said. “I’ll let Finn and Poe decide. Oh, before I forget: Rey says hi.” 

  “Rey’s my cousin,” Kylo filled Jessika in. “Tell her she should come over soon when you see her the next time. I have to talk to her about some stuff.” 

  “The collection?” Phasma asked. “Rey is a model on the side, you know.”

  “A model?” Jessika said with wide eyes, the first sentence she had spoken in a while. 

  “She’s pretty beautiful,” Phasma said with a shrug. “Finn and Poe are doing some modeling on the side too.”  

  “She’s helping me whenever I struggle to bring something to paper properly,” Kylo smiled. “And I really need her help on my current project.”

  “Is it that difficult?” Jessika reached for her glass. “I mean… I imagine it’s hard, but if you are passionate about it…” 

  “The thing is, the project isn’t exactly my kind of style,” he answered. “I need to use flowy, almost shapeless fabric, and it’s hard to work with it.” 

  “Good luck then,” Jessika said earnestly. 

  “Thank you.”

  “How was your work?” Phasma asked.

  “Uh,” Kylo nodded. “It was… Nice.” 

  “Why are you blushing!” 

  “I am not!”

  “You totally are!”

  “Stop talking nonsense,” Kylo said, pointing at Phasma almost accusingly.

  “I am never talking nonsense,” she replied flippantly. 

  “Jessika, do something!” Kylo said, looking at her. Instead of saying something, Jessika pressed her hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter. 

  “NO! Jessika’s here to help me out!” Phasma slammed her hand on the table. “Wait…” Realisation dawned on her face. “It’s  _ Tuesday _ !” 

  “What a brilliant deduction. Yes, it’s Tuesday,” Kylo replied dryly. 

At this point Jessika fidgeted in her seat, trying to contain her laughter. Phasma had a half-smile on her face, but kept the act going. 

  “Tuesday means Red-Haired-Dude-Day,” Phasma continued and tapped her nails on the table impatiently. 

  “Maybe,” Kylo said, suddenly interested in pushing grains of rice around his plate.

  “Stop trying to put off the inevitable,” Phasma growled. “Tell me all the dirty details…” 

  “It wasn’t that special. We might have flirted a little…” Kylo shrugged, smiling sheepishly. 

  “ _ It wasn’t special. _ Do you hear yourself. You never flirt Kylo. Not even with people who flirt with you,” Phasma rolled her eyes. 

They were interrupted by Jessika’s giggle. 

  “You two are like an old couple,” She wheezed. 

  “I consider the old hag over there to be my soulmate,” Kylo replied in all seriousness. 

  “Anyway…” Phasma smirked at Kylo, ignoring the jab. 

  “Don’t.” 

  “There’s this guy at the restaurant Kylo works at…” 

  “Hoe don’t do it! I will disown you!” Kylo shouted. 

  “Like fuck you do,” Phasma snapped back, grinning all the while. “This dude okay? He’s apparently really good looking. Red hair, well dressed, all the things that butter Kylo’s egg roll.” 

 “Oh,” Jessika grinned. “I already ship it!”

 “And he’s real moody whenever Mr Red is in a bad mood.” 

 “That was  _ once _ !” Kylo groaned. 

  “Yeah, but you are smitten,” Phasma said and arched her eyebrow.

  “Sorry…” Jessika sighed and looked at Phasma. “But she’s right…” 

  “Oh my god,” he sighed. 


	6. 27th of June

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next time Hux comes around Kylo is on his way to leave for a date with his mother. But somehow he stays longer…

Kylo leaned against the door of the men’s room with a sigh. He had a few minutes to catch his breath before he had to get back to today’s madness called  _ lunch rush _ . With a sigh he looked into the mirror across from him. Just another two hours and then he’d be free to go and see his mother for early dinner. 

A small smile blossomed on his lips and he inhaled deeply. He had missed his mother. The last time they had met was three months ago, way too long for both of their tastes. But now he would see her again. They would return to Margate, where Kylo grew up and his father waited for them.

The door moved and Kylo jumped away from it. Jyn popped her head in and gave him a cranky look. 

  “Stop hiding in the toilet. I am not serving your tables too!” 

Then she was gone and Kylo had nothing else to do than to follow her back into the chaos. For a while, all higher brain functions and thought processes were shut down. Kylo only reacted to his environment instead of interacting with it. Finally the restaurant emptied slowly and the two servers could slow down a little and catch their breath.

  “How is Cassian?” Kylo asked Jyn when the door closed behind the last customer. 

They were both a little sweaty and leaned against the large refrigerators behind the counter. Jyn lifted her head to look at Kylo and smiled a little. 

  “He’s good!” Jyn said and straightened her shirt. “He’s in Spain at the moment, but will be home for a week, doing smaller flights between France and London.” 

  “I guess it’s hard for you when he’s not there,” he replied, turning his head towards her. 

  “He’s earning a lot of money,” Jyn shrugged. “It’s not ideal, but neither of us need to be sticking around each other all the time. It’s weird sometimes though… you know, coming home to an empty apartment, but Cassian makes up for lost time whenever he’s here, it’s really sweet.”

  “That’s nice,” Kylo said with a smile.

Jyn smiled back, but was interrupted by a yawn. Both burst out laughing and Jyn doubled over in laughter. Kylo reached over to her and pulled her up and back against the fridge. 

  “Aw god,” she wheezed. “I need more sleep.” 

  “Sounds like a plan,” Kylo sighed. “Go on your break. My shifts over soon.” 

  “You can handle this?” Jyn asked cockily. 

  “So many customers, I don’t know, can I…?” Kylo said with a frown.

Both started laughing again and he shooed her away. Kylo decided to clean the counter while he waited for the last few minutes of his shift to pass. When Jyn returned, he went to change. He was so excited to see his mother again that he almost forgot his phone. With a smile he said his goodbyes to the rest of the staff and went upstairs to leave through the front door.

To his surprise Hux sat at his usual table with a closed file by his side. He was just packing his pen away and looked up when he heard Kylo. Today Hux was wearing black slacks with a dark green shirt and the first few buttons were open, revealing cream coloured skin.

  “Ah!” Hux said with a small smile. “Nice to see you again. Leaving already?” 

  “Yeah…” Kylo rubbed the back of his head nervously. 

  “Kylo!” Jyn called. “Wait a sec!” She nearly tripped while rushing up the stairs in her haste. “Oh… sorry.” She gave a breathy laugh when she noticed the customer. “Uhm. I was wondering if you could manage next Monday without me? Maz said she could get another server if you think it will be too much.” 

  “If you want a day off, it’s fine. We can handle it,” Kylo replied with a shrug and a smile. 

  “Thank you!” Jyn smiled broadly before she turned and hurried back down.

  “So your name is Kylo.”

The waiter turned around to look at Hux. Both blushed a little when their eyes met and Kylo had to clear his throat before he spoke.

  “Yes, Kylo Organa actually,” Kylo gave a small laugh. 

  “I am Armitage Hux. If you want you can call me by my first name.” There was a slight nervous quiver in Hux’ voice, but Kylo smiled gently. 

  “Armitage,” Kylo tested. “Very old fashioned.” 

  “That’s one way to call it ugly and weird,” Armitage replied with a slightly bitter expression. 

  “The weirdest fucking name I know is BeeBee, my best friend’s cat. No one can surpass that,” he shot back with a wink, trying to lift the mood a bit. “Can I sit down? I feel weird looming over you.” 

  “Sure,” Armitage said with a small smile as he took the file and stuffed it into this messenger bag. “What kind of cat is it?” 

  “Calico. Really cute, if you ignore the fact she’s only got three legs,” Kylo said with a grin as he folded himself onto the bench by Armitage’s side. 

  “Did she have an accident?” Armitage asked, real concern on his face.

  “We don’t know. Rey, my cousin, got her from a shelter and they said that they found her without it,” Kylo shrugged. “But she’s getting up to all kinds of shit.” 

  “That’s what cats do!” Armitage said and rolled his eyes dramatically. 

  “Ah…” Kylo smirked and side-eyed the other man. “Do I hear a proud cat-dad?” He winked. 

  “Maybe,” he replied and lifted his chin almost in defense. “Millicent is my princess.” Armitage pulled his phone out and held it out to Kylo. “She’s always my wallpaper, even on my work computer.” 

  “She’s ginger? Very cute though.” 

  “She’s not ginger,” Armitage lowered the phone, one eyebrow dramatically arched as he spoke. “She’s  _ cream _ .” 

  “Sorry.” Kylo lifted his hands in defense while trying to hide his grin. “Apparently I have lived under a stone for the last twenty-odd years.” 

  “The breeder I got her from was very particular about her cats’ colours. She’s a Maine Coon and this kind of colouring is very rare.” Armitage shrugged and looked at the picture with a smile. “I would have liked her in any colour.” 

  “She is very pretty.” 

Kylo’s compliment made Armitage smile more and blush just a little. It was obvious that Millicent was someone the other man cared a lot about. While Armitage packed his phone away, Kylo’s heart made backflips at how beautiful he looked. He tried to get a hold of himself. 

  “I’m more of a dog person to be honest. I adore cats, don’t get me wrong. But dogs are just something else, you know?” 

  “I understand. I would love to have a whole zoo at home, but work…” Armitage sighed. 

  “Yeah,” Kylo nodded in agreement. “You see… Poe and Finn, the same guys with the cat, have a dog. Huge mastiff named Black Leader. Such an adorable thing!” Kylo laughed and brushed his hair back. “I sometimes pet-sit when they are out of town and it’s a joy to go on walks. And then I really want to do it every day with a dog of my own.”  

  “It’s hard to keep dogs in a larger city, isn’t it?” Armitage asked. 

  “Yes,” he replied. “But somehow it works out for them…” Kylo shrugged. 

A short lull in the conversation made Kylo almost painfully aware of how close they were sitting. Armitage’s ginger eyelashes fluttered when their eye contact was too much for him. Kylo glanced away, accidentally looking at Armitage’s chest. He flushed even more and looked at his hands. Then he heard Armitage inhale. 

  “Did you grow up with pets?” Armitage asked quietly. 

  “Yeah,” Kylo gave a quick laugh and looked back up. “My grandfather was a huge animal lover. He bred horses since he was in his twenties. And he always had dogs. Vader, the current one, is already really old. Gramps got him when I was about fifteen… Yeah, I think I was fifteen.” 

  “Is he a specific breed? Like a shepherd?” Armitage asked. 

Kylo noticed that a few hairs had escaped Armitage’s styled hair and hung over his forehead. It was hard to resist the urge to brush them away, so he cleared his throat and answered Armitage’s question. 

  “Vader is some kind of mutt, don’t ask me which breeds exactly. But he’s a real darling,” Kylo smiled. “Did you grow up with pets?” 

  “No… Sadly not,” Armitage sighed, but then smiled. “I am trying to make up for lost time. Millie may or may not get some siblings. The same breeder has had three adorable little cats since last month. I saw them last weekend and just…” Armitage had a wistful smile on his face. 

  “That would be adorable,” Kylo agreed with a laugh. 

Suddenly, Kylo’s phone rang. With a muttered curse he answered.

  “Hey mum,” he said and squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation of a lecture about tardiness. 

_ “Hello Ben, darling! The traffic is horrible! I will be coming half an hour later. I am so sorry!” _ Leia sounded stressed and frustrated. 

  “It’s alright. Don’t stress yourself,” Kylo replied, smiling with relief. “I would rather have you late than in hospital.” 

_ “What a relief.” _ Leia said dryly, but then she laughed.  _ “See you later Benny.”  _

  “See you later!” Kylo ended the call and turned back to Armitage.

  “Your mother?” Armitage asked.

  “Yeah… I’m seeing her later,” Kylo smiled.

  “And… Ben? I didn’t mean to listen, but…” 

  “My mum always talks really loudly. It’s my first name. I don’t really like it, so I am going by my second.”

Before Armitage could reply, he was rudely interrupted by someone else. 

  “Kylo!” Maz shouted. “I told you to go home!” 

Both men turned to the stairs. Maz was making her way up with Armitage's steamed buns balanced in her hand. She tried her best to hide her smirk, but Kylo saw how it curled around the corners of her mouth. 

  “Yeah, I am leaving,” Kylo rose and rolled his eyes. “Most bosses would love their employees to stay after they clocked out.” 

  “Only if they did work… Something I can’t say about you!” Maz said with a stern look to Kylo. 

  “You once told me to make the customers feel at home,” Kylo replied with a sly smile.

Maz put the plate down, rolled her eyes and was gone before Armitage could thank her for bringing his food. Kylo took his bag and swung it around his shoulder. 

 “Well then…” He cleared his throat. “See you next week.” 

  “Yeah,” Armitage turned to him, a broad smile on his face. “See you next week.” 

Kylo smiled back and walked out of the door, looking over his shoulder once more. Armitage waved at him and Kylo waved back. He had a large grin on his face as he walked to the coffee shop he and his mother agreed to meet at. 

During lunch, his mother asked if he was seeing someone… A question he ignored while he tried to hide a smile.


	7. 4th of July

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After another visit from Armitage, Kylo comes to realize a few things, much to Jessika’s delight and Phasma’s worry.

  “No no no!” Chirrut said loudly.

  “Just  _ choose _ !” Maz replied. “He’s coming in soon.” 

  “Who is coming in soon?” Kylo asked from where he stood in the doorway.

The group in the middle of the kitchen jumped away from where they stood around one of the counters. 

  “No one…” Jyn said and smiled. 

  “Everyone, get to work!” Maz shouted and stuffed a piece of paper into her jacket pocket. “Move it.” 

  “What were you doing?” Kylo asked Jyn whose face turned blank. 

  “Nothing.” 

  “Like fuck!” He hissed. 

  “Nothing,” she insisted. 

The rest of the morning was spent with Kylo nagging Jyn the whole time about that piece of paper. But she didn’t cave in and Kylo knew he had no chance at finding out what it was. Baze and Chirrut were too thick-skulled, Maz was out of the question, and the other cooks were too loyal to their boss. 

And so Kylo sulked. 

He spent the lunch break moping side by side with Jyn, who passive aggressively sulked back. When they returned inside, Maz rolled her eyes at the look Kylo shot her and laughed with Chirrut about something. Kylo’s mood didn’t lighten, not even when a very cute elderly lesbian couple came into the restaurant. 

  “Seriously Kylo, how long do you think you can keep that up?” Jyn asked him eventually when he had handed her a sponge wordlessly.

  “Longer than you think,” he replied, the first words he had spoken to her in a long time. 

  “You are ridiculous,” Jyn said and rolled her eyes. “You act like a child.” 

  “I know.” 

  “You know?” 

  “Yes, every once in awhile you have to let your inner child out. Corpses tend to stink if you keep them locked in for too long,” Kylo said in all seriousness. 

Jyn stared at him and burst out laughing. Kylo couldn’t help himself and joined her. 

  “I didn’t think you could be this dark!” She said and gave a happy sigh. 

  “Thank you,” Kylo winked at her and chuckled.

Jyn looked at him and sobered a little. 

  “All good?” She asked him. 

  “Yeah. Even though I still want to know what’s going on…” Kylo looked at her pleadingly. 

  “Puppy eyes don’t work on me,” Jyn said and shoved his face away. “I’ll be downstairs if you decide to be reasonable again.” 

After she left, Kylo leaned against the counter and watched the people walk past Takodana. He liked people-watching, especially when it was in a neighbourhood like Soho. 

Unexpectedly a familiar figure appeared to the right. His flaming red hair was kissed by the sun and glinted like a newly minted copper coin. He wore a light blue dress shirt with a dark red tie and brown slacks. He looked amazing, especially with the mirrored sunglasses sitting on his slim nose.When Armitage entered, he pulled them off and tucked them into his breast pocket. 

He effectively caught Kylo staring. Kylo felt his face go red and turned towards the fridge to calm himself down. When he turned around, Armitage was occupied with his bag and Kylo quickly placed Armitage’s order. He glanced tentatively over to the other man and saw him smiling over.

  “Hi Kylo!” Armitage said and sat down at his table. “How are you?” 

  “As good as it gets,” he replied; the  _ now way better _ was just simply inappropriate. “And you?” 

  “Stressed, but that’s a usual I guess,” Armitage shrugged. 

    “I already placed your order,” Kylo said with a smile. “How’s Millicent?” 

  “Thank you! She’s great. I got her new toys the other day and now she’s even happier,” Armitage smiled. 

He unpacked his stuff and spread his files over the table. When Armitage stood up to plug in his laptop cord, Kylo shamelessly stared at his ass. He had a nice ass and Kylo blushed when Armitage rose, the feeling of getting caught lurking in his mind. 

  “I’ve been meaning to ask… What are you doing for a living?” Kylo asked when the other man had sat down again. 

  “I’m a lawyer,” Armitage said. “Actually, the co-founder of First Order. We specialize in International Law.” Pride was audible in the man’s voice. 

 “ I haven’t heard of it to be honest. It’s awesome though, that you already run your own company. I mean, you are not that  _ that _ old…” 

  “How old do you think I am?” Armitage asked playfully with a grin on his lips.

  “Uhm… Not older than thirty…” Kylo replied with a breathy laugh. 

  “Well, I am thirty-two. I’m glad to know that the plastic surgery is paying off, I sold my soul for it,” Armitage joked and brushed his hand in an exaggerated sweep over his high cheekbones. 

  “That’s a high price for beauty…” Kylo joined in. 

  “Only the best for my Irish complexion,” Armitage chuckled. 

Kylo laughed and tried to fight the urge to touch Armitage’s hand resting only a few inches away from his on the table. The other’s eyes were bright and glowing, radiant almost. It was intoxicating. 

Maz popped the bubble the two men were in when she came upstairs and handed Kylo the plate with steamed buns

  “Thought I’d bring Mr Hux his food, you seem too  _ occupied _ ,” She said, winked and vanished downstairs again. Kylo flushed and sat the plate down on the table. Armitage tucked in while Kylo got him his water. They didn’t speak again.

Kylo felt unsure. He was pretty certain that he had fucked up with Armitage because the other man hadn’t initiated a conversation again. Maybe he just didn’t want to talk to a dumb server. God, he hated when he got his hopes up too high. 

  “Kylo?” Armitage’s soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

  “Yeah?” He replied. 

  “I was wondering…” Armitage began, but interrupted himself. “I was wondering why you work as a waiter?” 

  “It’s not the best job, but it pays the bills,” he said and shrugged. “I earn some money with collections and runway shows, but only a little on the side. My roommate works in a gym. I usually do the odd jobs, waiter, cashier, and once I worked as a bouncer. I certainly didn’t plan on it to be my profession.” 

  “Oh yes, to be young and in university again…” Armitage joked. “Working odd jobs…”

  “Yeah, it’s wonderful,” Kylo replied and rolled his eyes. “Especially the  _ nice  _ customers.” 

Hux chuckled and nodded. Only then Kylo noticed that Armitage was finished with his plate and took it quickly. 

  “I’ll be back in a second,” he said. 

  “Thank you,” Armitage said softly with a smile. 

Kylo was fidgety and nervous when he returned back upstairs. Armitage was engrossed in a file, so Kylo simply set the food down. Without saying anything he went over to the counter again. When he passed a table, he miscalculated the distance between himself and the bar counter in front of him. With a distinct sound of surprised pain he found himself with a desk corner in his abdomen. 

  “Aw shit,” he groaned in pain.

When he heard a muffled sound behind him he turned around. Armitage pressed his hand to his mouth and tried his best not to fall off the bench in laughter. His eyes sparkled and Kylo, despite himself, grinned. 

  “What?” 

For a few seconds Kylo was overwhelmed with how utterly relaxed Armitage was before he burst out in  laughter himself.

  “Just… I’m sorry… That was so stupid,” Armitage wheezed before he snorted. 

  “I know,” Kylo groaned. “I always do these kinds of things.”

  “Jesus,” Armitage inhaled. “Can we just not talk about it?” 

  “If you mean my dumb accident, then yes please?”

  “Yeah… And also my ugly laugh…” Armitage suddenly looked self-conscious. 

  “Hey, I love it when people laugh, no matter how it sounds. My mum laughs like a freaking horse. I don’t think laughter can be ugly.” 

  “That’s so cheesy,” Armitage groaned, but laughed again. 

  “Get used to it!” Kylo said with a wink. 

  
  


  “Phasma,” Kylo said when he came home. 

  “Yeah?” she replied, engrossed in braiding Jessika’s hair. 

  “I think I am in love.” 

  “What?” Phasma jerked around, almost ripping Jessika’s hair out. 

   “Fucking hell, Phas!” Jessika whimpered in pain.

  “I’m in love,” he repeated, a smile on his face. 

  “Sit,” Phasma ordered.

Kylo sat down across the table from the two of them and leaned back. Jessika rubbed her scalp and Phasma stared at him with awe and concern. He was still smiling and the two women looked at him a little worried. 

  “So, what happened?” Jessika asked. Ever since the first evening she ate with them, her presence became a regular part of their life. 

  “You remember when I told you about Armitage?” Kylo asked and flushed. 

  “Yeah, that was just last week and the week before and the week before that one as well,” Phasma said and continued braiding Jessika’s hair.  

  “We talked again and I was being dumb and ran into a table.” Before Phasma could interject, Jessika lifted her hand to keep her from talking. “And he started laughing. He has such an adorable laugh.” 

  “What did you talk about?” Jessika asked while Phasma looked at Kylo with an unreadable expression. 

  “We joked around a bit. He asked me about why I’m working at Takodana and I found out that he’s a lawyer,” he replied and brushed his hair back. 

  “That sounds so cute!” Jessika said and smiled. “He sounds like a nice person.” 

  “I will only give you my blessing after I’ve met him,” Phasma said coolly and sighed. “Still, I agree with Jessika, he sounds like a nice person. Bring him for dinner if you dare.” 

  “I so dare,” Kylo replied with a large grin.


	8. 11th of June

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the horrible pining boils down to some absolutely non-cliché events

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter is completely taken from the weird, twisted mind of a romantic young lady who didn’t have a date in one and a half years. Have fun and feel free to yell at me in the comments.

Kylo was in the middle of dinner rush when the door opened and two men entered. It had been raining like shit for the last three hours, so umbrellas and long raincoats were nothing special anymore.

Rather the fact that he knew one of the men was shocking. Kylo stared at Armitage Hux for a few agonizing seconds before Jyn noticed what had happened to her friend. The dark haired man by Armitage’s side was hanging their coats. Armitage smiled at him softly with a lot of affection.

  “Is that… Oh Kylo,” she whispered.

A hand rested on his forearm, but Kylo didn’t react. Then Armitage spotted him and smiled over to them. Neither of the servers moved, but Armitage's boyfriend distracted him and pointed to a table for two. Maz, who had just come up, saw the whole thing and frowned. She walked over to where Jyn stood with Kylo and spoke in low tones.

  “Kylo, you can go downstairs for a sec. I’ll take over your tables for the time being.”

Without registering what he was doing, Kylo walked down the stairs and leaned against the wall where he sat during his first few days at the job, nursing his headaches. The wall was just as cold and unforgiving as the last time. Kylo felt empty as he slid down, carrots on his right and onions on his left.

If Armitage had a boyfriend, why did he flirt that much? He heard approaching steps and soon he saw Jyn walking down the stairs. She noticed Kylo and knelt down in front of him.

  “I’m sorry,” she said again. “We all hoped… Something would come out of this. We didn’t want you to get hurt. Take your time.”

Then she rose and walked away. Kylo stared blankly at the wall across from him. Served him right for getting his hopes up and falling for a dude he knew nothing about. He was tempted to text Phasma to tell her to come by and kick Armitage’s ass, but that could get him fired and her into a lot of trouble.

Instead he chose to soldier on. After all that’s what his mother had taught him. Simply push through, don’t think of the aftermath. For the moment he had a responsibility. He had to do his job and he would damn well do it. Fuck all the rest. He had gotten his heart broken before, but it hadn’t hurt that much.

Armitage had been something special, something secret, also something new and exciting. He had hoped, but he realized it had just been wishful thinking. A bitter taste filled his mouth and he felt like throwing up.

Kylo rose instead and inhaled deeply. He wiped away the tears he hadn’t noticed running down his face and walked up the stairs. The moment he saw the couple, he was damn well ready to punch both, but he grit his teeth instead.

Maz looked surprised when she saw him, but patted his arm without saying anything. Kylo continued to take orders and drop them off, his eyes always strayed to the couple. The boyfriend was attractive and just as well dressed in a dark blue shirt as Armitage in his white. Jyn served them, visibly disgruntled and angry. She had to ask Kylo to help her drop off some plates on a table close to Armitage’s.

  “Kylo?” Armitage asked. “Could you get us another pitcher of water?”

  “Yes Mister Hux,” Kylo said flatly and took the empty one.

He saw the hurt expression on Armitage’s face and walked off. Served the fucker right if he thought he could woo Kylo. As he refilled the pitcher, he noticed that the boyfriend leaned over to Armitage and whispered something into his ear, taking one of Armitage’s hands in his. Kylo snapped and slammed the pitcher down before he walked down the stairs and towards the back door. He needed to get out of here.

He ignored Jyn’s worried question and Armitage calling for him. Fuck this shit. Fuck the customers who saw this. Fuck Armitage. Fuck his boyfriend. Fuck everything. Kylo slammed the back door and let the rain wash over his face.

  “Kylo!” Armitage’s voice called, barely audible over the heavy rain. “Fuck! I am sorry, what did I do wrong?”

  “What you did wrong?” Kylo snapped and turned around. His hair whirled around his head, wet strands gluing themselves to his forehead.

Armitage looked at him, eyes wide and worried. His ginger hair was already plastered to his head and his shirt turned translucent under the downpour. The light from the open door behind him bathes him in gold. He looked beautiful and for a second Kylo faltered, but his fury took over.

  “You come in here, flirt with me, make me _fall_ for you and then you turn up with your goddamn boyfriend!” Kylo shouted, hot tears running down his face, mixing with the rain. “That’s what you did wrong!”

  “Mitaka is my best friend…” Armitage said. “I… I came here because he forced me to finally ask you out.”

  “Yes, _sure_!” Kylo snapped back. “Like I believe you now!” He towered over Armitage. “Do you do this often? Flirt with lowly waiters only to break their hearts and make fun of them while flaunting around with your boyfriend?!”    .”

  “Goddamnit Kylo!” Armitage shouted and grabbed Kylo’s shirt. “I have the biggest fucking _crush_ I had in fucking 30 years, I want to be with you, fall in love with you!”

Kylo was quiet for a moment. The flames of his fury had been effectively doused. Armitage looked desperate. He looked up into Kylo’s eyes and he realized that the other man was crying too. Gently, he put his hands on Armitage’s cheeks, feeling a tremble running through both their bodies when he touched his skin.

 

  “Armitage,” he said gently. “I… I didn’t know.”

  “Mitaka dragged me here, because he couldn’t stand me ‘whining over some waiter dude’. His words not mine,” Armitage sighed and lowered his head. “I am a fucking coward. I wanted to ask you out two weeks ago…”

  “Armitage. You could have asked me out the first time we had properly talked and I would have said yes,” Kylo whispered and lifted the other’s face again to meet his eyes.

  “I didn’t know that… Why would an attractive guy like you…”  Armitage shook his head a little.

  “Want to go out with another attractive guy?” Kylo finished Armitage’s sentence. “Because he wants to.”

Then he pulled Armitage forward and closed the short distance between their lips. Armitage’s hand fisted into the front of his wet t-shirt and Kylo sighed into the other’s hot mouth. His heart was beating a hard staccato in his chest and he felt close enough to fainting as Armitage’s mouth moved skillfully against his.

He didn’t want this moment to end. He wanted to remain right here. Never let go. Never stop. But Armitage started to shiver and they pulled away. The other man looked cold and a little pale.

  “Do you want to go inside?” Kylo asked quietly.

  “Yes please,” Armitage replied.

Kylo pulled his arm around Armitage and together they walked through the back inside. The warmth and humidity was like a punch to the gut, but it felt much better than the cold rain. To Kylo’s surprise the corridor was blocked by Baze holding a large butcher knife in his hands. The cook glowered at Armitage and Kylo felt a sudden powerful urge to protect Armitage.

  “Finished eating each other’s lungs?” Maz asked playfully. “Put that knife away Baze, you’re scaring them!”

The cook grumbled and walked back into the kitchen.

  “I’m not going to ask how much you saw. I only want to know if you have dry clothes,” Kylo asked.

  “In the staff room,” she replied, a smile playing around her lips. “And thank you for winning that bet for me!”

  “I knew there was a bet going around!” Kylo shouted, but his anger was just for show.

  “Let’s go change before we die of hypothermia,” Armitage said softly and leaned closer to Kylo. “I’m freezing.”

Kylo smiled down on him, ignoring Maz’ _awwwws_ as well as the looks from his co-workers and lead Armitage to the staff room. Towels and dry clothes laid waiting for them and Kylo chuckled when he saw that Maz had stuffed a handful of condoms into his bag.

  “Is she always like that?” Armitage asked as they changed.

  “Yes. It’s part of her charm.”

  “Part of your charm is being handsome even if you look like a wet puppy,” Armitage said and pulled Kylo into another kiss.

  “If you fuck in here I will never speak to you again,” Jyn said dryly, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.

  “I am happy to inform you that yes, we did,” Kylo said after he was finished with thoroughly kissing Armitage.

  “Ew Kylo, I got you your boyfriend and that’s how you repay me!” Jyn yelled and turned on her heels.

  “Are we boyfriends?” Kylo suddenly asked and looked at Armitage.

  “If you want us to be…” he replied glancing down at their joined hands.

  “Armitage…” Kylo lifted the other’s face again. “I am nervous as fuck, just like you. I am still willing to try and make this weird thing we’re having for each other work. I’m crazy about you.”

  “I’m crazy about you too,” Armitage confessed with a blush, chin still resting in Kylo’s hand.

Kylo smiled and leaned down to kiss Armitage full on the lips. Just for a quick peck, but he felt a hundred times better.

  “Want to meet my roommate?” He asked Armitage.

  “If they don’t beat me up.”

  “Eeeeh, can’t promise that, but I will defend my boyfriend’s honour.”

  “Armie… He’s a keeper!” Someone suddenly said and they both turned in surprise.

Armitage’s friend stood in the doorway grinning at the two of them.

  “Dopheld! What are you doing down here?” Armitage asked, confused.

  “The nice old lady said I should take a look at the good job I’ve done,” the other man smirked.

  “Jesus, Maz you old hag…” Kylo sighed.

  “Dopheld Mitaka. Nice to finally meet you in person,” he stretched out his hand and Kylo accepted it with a nervous smile.

“I am Kylo Organa-Solo. Sorry for… Me being a dick.” Kylo said and brushed back his still damp hair.

  “I once almost stabbed my husband’s brother in jealousy, so I feel you,” Dopheld replied with a smile.

  “Okay…” Kylo smiled. “Was that the official warning for me?”

  “Yes it was,” Dopheld said and his smile grew.

  “Good. Do I have to ask you if I can take Armitage home with me or do I have to call his mother so she can say yes?” Kylo said and arched one eyebrow.

Dopheld looked at him for a few seconds as Armitage started laughing again. Kylo grinned at Mitaka before they both burst out in laughter.

  “Definitely a keeper,” Mitaka chuckled.

 

Kylo and Armitage took a cab to Kylo’s place. It was more private and they could lean against one another while they held hands in companionable silence. When they arrived as Kylo’s place Armitage paid the driver while Kylo fumbled with his keys. Together they walked up the stairs and Kylo was relieved to see that the flat was empty.

Once they took off their shoes and hanged their jackets, Kylo spotted Phasma’s note stuck to the kitchen door. _I’m seeing a movie with Rey and Jessika #LadiesNight. Have fun!_

  “Apparently my roommate bailed on me,” Kylo said with a laugh. “Are you hungry?”

  “No, are you?” Armitage replied and leaned against Kylo.

  “Maybe later. I’d like to show you something,” Kylo pulled Armitage closer and buried his nose in his loose hair.

  “Hopefully not your dick,” Armitage joked and Kylo chuckled.

  “I’m too classy for that.”

They stood in silence for a few moments simply soaking up the other’s presence until Armitage look a deep breath.

  “I ruined the moment, didn’t I?” He sounded anxious and looked up to Kylo in an awkward fashion.

  “You would never,” Kylo said affectionately and kissed Armitage’s forehead. “Come.”

Kylo lead Armitage gently to his bedroom, heart beating quicker by the second. He feared he might scare Armitage off if he showed him the designs, but on the other hand he would find out sooner or later. And Kylo had been taught to be honest. Despite all this, he couldn’t stop his hands shivering when he opened his bedroom door.

 “I wanted to show you my designs…” Kylo pointed towards the table in the middle of the room. “I used you as an inspiration…”

Armitage gave him a confused look and walked over, Kylo following right behind him. A small gasp of awe escaped Armitage’s lips when he saw the drawings littering the surface. He picked a few up, gently and with care, and studied them.

  “Kylo, they are amazing!” He exclaimed. “The colours work so beautifully and the designs are stunning!”

  “Thank you.”

  “Are you alright?” Armitage asked, concern in his voice.

  “I was worried you’d find it creepy or something…” He blurted out.

  “I would never,” Armitage said decidedly. “I think it’s sweet. And I feel honoured.”

He put the sheets of paper back down. Kylo took a shivering breath, his anxiety boiling in his mind.

  “Kylo,” Armitage said gently. “What are you afraid of?”

  “That you will leave because I am weird,” he forced out. “So many people have left me already and I don’t want to see you walking away. I fear I have gotten my hopes up too high. I always do that when I meet someone new and I start to expect things and...  I like you a lot and I don’t want to ruin this.”

  “I like you a lot too,” Armitage said softly and buried his hands in Kylo’s hair. “And I am glad you have high hopes for us. Because I want it to work out and I want to fulfill every single dream you have. To the last one.”

Armitage kissed his cheeks, his eyes, and his lips. Kylo leaned against him and let himself be lead to the bed. Kylo felt relieved when Armitage sat down beside him and took his hand as if it was a natural thing to do.

  “Sorry for being such a weirdo.”

  “Shut up.” Armitage said softly.

  “Yeah. Yeah…”  

 

The first time Kylo woke up, the sun was just rising. He basked in the warmth under the blanket for a moment of two before he quickly stood up to go to the bathroom. The second time he woke to someone towering over his bed. Sunlight was falling into the room and he was blinded by the figure in front of him. The door of his room was opened, maybe he had forgotten to close it.

  “Phasma will be _delighted_.”

  “Rey, what on earth are you doing here?” Kylo groaned into his pillow.

  “We overdid it yesterday, so I stayed here, sleeping on Phasma’s couch. And apparently you had company too,” she patted his head

  “No I mean in my room?” Kylo turned his head a little to look her her properly

  “I wanted to check if you need the bathroom anytime soon.”

  “No… You can go ahead and block it…” Kylo sighed and closed his eyes.

  “Awesome…” Rey ruffled his hair again and walked out of the room.

Kylo turned and opened his eyes, feeling something flutter in his chest at the flash of red on the pillow beside him. When he saw the mess of Armitage’s hair, he couldn’t help but giggle. The other man opened one eye and furrowed his eyebrows.

  “No one makes fun of the mighty Armitage Hux!” He huffed and a hand sneaked into Kylo’s shirt.

  “Don’t, I’m ticklish!” Kylo shrieked and tried to escape, but the other man followed.

  “Sucks to be you.”

Armitage was relentless and eventually the two of them landed on the floor with a loud thud, Armitage on top of Kylo. Both laughed, unable to hold back.

  “Kylo, you _have_ to show me this position one of these days!” Phasma suddenly said standing in the doorway, a smirk on her lips.

Kylo became suddenly very aware that both he and Armitage were only dressed in boxershorts and t-shirts. Armitage, his hands resting on Kylo’s pectorals, stared at Phasma, realizing that this was his new boyfriend’s roommate.

  “Why is everyone simply barging into my room?” Kylo groaned loudly.

  “Nice to meet you properly, _Armitage_ ,” she smiled completely ignoring Kylo. “I’ll see you two at breakfast I assume.” Then she forcefully closed the door.

  “That was not how I intended to meet your roommate,” Armitage said while Kylo sat up, careful not to disturb the man sitting in his lap.

  “I don’t think Phasma minds,” he replied gently and gave Armitage a peck on the lips.

They stood up in an awkward tangle of limbs. Kylo went over to his closet and started looking for sweatpants as Armitage followed.

  “My favourite. Take care of them,” Kylo told him with a broad smile.

  “Why didn’t anyone put a ring on you yet?” Armitage asked softly and cradled Kylo’s head in his hands.

  “Because no one found a ring big enough for my finger,” Kylo replied and they bumped noses.

  “I’ll start looking right away.”

 

* * *

 

[Me on tumblr](http://www.charlotte-frey.tumblr.com)

[Phil on tumblr](http://www.boredbyreality.tumblr.com)


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